Having won seven and drawn one of the eight Premier League game played after the two opening defeats to Man City and Chelsea, Arsenal have responded well to that difficult start to the season.
However, as the Gunners prepare to face second place Liverpool at the Emirates tomorrow evening, Unai Emery knows that achieving results against top four rivals is the next significant challenge in his reign as head coach.
The record against the big four (and Sp*rs) hasn’t been great in recent seasons, and the Spaniard is determined to ‘write a new history’, starting with the Mugsmashers tomorrow.
Speaking at his pre-game press conference on Friday, he said, “Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool are in front of us in the table and now we want to compete against them and this test, I think, is a very important test but I trust in our players, I trust in our way.
“The result tomorrow is very important but first I want to show them, to show you and to show everybody our best mentality in the game.
“I know if we have a very big mentality in the game and a very big performance individually and collectively, and also we need some luck, then I think we can win.
“We want to write a new history. The new history is in the present and also, with our players, our quality and our capacity, I believe in my players and this project.
“We are starting this project with a very positive way with what we are doing. We are in our mentality that we also need to improve things but each match they are giving us a lot of information for improvement and development and I trust in my players.”
Emery has defensive worries over four key defenders with doubts over Hector Bellerin, Nacho Monreal, Sead Kolasinac and Sokratis Papastathopoulos, with late decisions to be made ahead of tomorrow evening’s kick off.
Agreed, would be a big step forward for us to win.
3-3 last season, them 2-0 up, us 3-2 up and then a draw seems to fit the pattern of this season’s performances.
But would be happier with one nil to the Arsenal. Or any win.
It will be some achievement to get any kind of result with a back four of Lichsteiner, Moustafi, Holding and Jenkinson
I’ll celebrate a draw at this point. Not at all optimistic.
No Jenkinson please. He is a very limited player.
At least he is a full back…no way should we play Xhaka out of position tomorrow.
We will have to focus from the first second to the final whistle to stand a chance of getting some kind of result. The confidence within the team is good, we can play very well at times but I’m looking at this as a stepping stone of improvement.
Cautious optimism and hopeful that the defence can perform at their best level so far but we have seen few signs yet of any dramatic improvement in that department.
It will go either 1-1 or 0-3
Last season in the first half at home we were awful, and that’s being kind, and the leat I remember about Anfield the better.
I don’t hold much hope for this one, I think our best bet is to go toe to toe with them, and hope we can score more goals than they can.
Maybe go 4-4-2 with Welbeck+Aubameyang and look to beat the press by going long? I remember Wenger having success against Dortmund doing this, and it infuriated Klopp.
We certainly have to be more efficient with out forward play but bearing in mind their threats on the flank in Sane and Salah, we will be better off in a 4-2-3-1 with extra bodies to come back and help the fullbacks.
Half spaces between fullback and Cbacks will also be an issue and the mids need to be VERY aware of players running in at the back line.
Yeah depending on who lines up in defence will impact on my positivity going into the match!!!
The battle will be won in midfield.
If we can keep them limited and make sure we are dynamic, we can overcome them. Give them too much of the ball and hope our defense can cope wave after wave is a recipe for failure.
if the shit defence is playing, then we shouldnt get suckered into viewing this as a test of progress. we know weve got some crap players and as has been said a few transfer windows will be needed to sort that. if our two spanish full backs are fit, even with mxstafi we should be able to put out the shape we want and we can assess that but the only thing id draw from a 5-1 against jenks, AMN out of position and lichsteiner, is our squad’s thin and liverpool are hot right now, if we got a fighting… Read more »
Prefer using AMN ar Lback.
Jenkinson lacks tekkers and is a liability against true quality.
High time we win this one
We’ll win 2-1.
I hear Nicklas Bendtner has been convicted and jailed for hitting a taxi driver. Who says he’s a rubbish striker?
That would depend on what he was actually aiming to hit at the time…
True. If Nicky B had a banjo he’d definitely miss the barn door.
Without much expectation, I hope we can nick it. We will have to not be naive and be very wary of their counter attacking threat. BUT we need to take a hold of the game and come forward quicker too with more dynamism. The less they have the ball the better for us (our defense) I’m guessing a 4-2-3-1 Granit-Torreira axis with Iwobi-Ozil-Auba just ahead and of course Laca up top. Hopefully Bellerin is fit at Rback otherwise its Lichsteiner. Back two if Mustafi is still having the niggle then Mustafi and Holding. They will have to be smart and… Read more »
mustafi must not commit any error that leads to a goal. he does one, arsenal dispose him off. Am expecting at least a draw.
How ’bout a little bit of belief here. Forget the recent past. Streaks were made to be broken.
3-1 to Arsenal.
Nicklas bendtner will be facing a very different test in danish prison for the next 50 days